At Last!

PICTURES. FINALlY.


My first view of Mongolia!

Our first interaction with a Mongolian!

The Welcome Scarf
Mongolian's give this scarf in welcoming to visitors. It is blue to represent peace, friendship, and blue skies.

Awaa
At the top of many mountains is an awaa, a pile of stones that travelers walk around 3 times for good luck on their journey. They are also common alongside roads, but most drivers will honk three times instead of going around them.

Land of the Blue Sky, alright.

Dzuud
This winter was one of the harshest Monoglia has seen in a long time. Nearly a quarter of all livestock died. As a result, the fields are littered with bones.

This is why I'm in Mongolia.

Another Awaa

Chinggis Khan!

Maw and Paw

My "Welcome to Mongolia!" Meal
Yes, that is a sheep's head.

Two of my many cattle

My grandparent's ger

A Saturday Afternoon picnic

My Kitchen

Shagai
Aka Anklebones. A game involving the anklebones of a goat. It is actually very fun and I got so good at it that my dad started calling me a monster in Mongolian. How sweet.

Brian
For 1000 Tugricks (less than $1) , you could hold his GIANT bird of prey. I passed.

The Hallway from my room

Easily the best picture I have of my dad. This is my kitchen floor. That is my dinner.

My kitchen
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are those the twins from Full House?

My room
(and yes, my bed is that thin. The other day, I removed the blanket to wash it, and I discovered - and was not surprised - that my mattress is 4 2x4's pushed together)

My house at night

Milking a horse
A common snack in Mongolia is called aruul, which is made from mare's milk. It is very very strong tasting. Still haven't decided if I like it yet...

Yes, it IS this beautiful.

My first camel sighting!
By the way, the word for camel in Mongolian is TЭМЭЭ (pronounced teh-MEH). I have decided to name my camel Timmy, the TЭМЭЭ.

American's in Mongolia
Every Saturday, we get together in one of our gers and watch good ole American films. Here, John is being a true Mongolian host and offer the candy dish to his just arrived guests.

He won 4th!

Tumbo, Dawa, and my father

My gorgeous sister, Enkhee

William Tell
These three adorable boys are my cousin-like family members. We started out with 2 kids in the family and in a month, it has grown to 7. The house is packed. It is quite common in Mongolia to inherit kids for months at a time, whether or not they are related to you.

4th of July
For the 4th, we hosted a big party for our families at a nearby lake. It was so wonderful. We made American food (fruit salad, french fries, banana pudding, potato salad, devilled eggs), sang the Star Spangled Banner, and drank beers. The only things missing were fireworks... and America, of course.

Red Rover, Red Rover...

So cute! And no joke - that kid was chugging that beer in his hand.

Before

After
This was quite the experience. We bought the sheep from the local herder and two of our dads killed and skinned it right in front of us. It was intense. Then we cooked and ate it.

I have about 500 more pictures. And videos to boot. But, I've been here a while and, heck, I'm in Mongolia. I'm going to go do some Mongolia-esque activities (aka join some friends at a local karaoke bar and make fools of ourselves).

So as always, love and miss you terribly, send me letters and packages (mac and cheese!) and I hope all is going swimmingly in the states.

Peace out!